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Adair KL, Lindgreen S, Poole AM, Young LM, Bernard-Verdier M, Wardle DA, Tylianakis JM. Above and belowground community strategies respond to different global change drivers. Sci Rep 2019; 9:2540. [PMID: 30796259 PMCID: PMC6385336 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39033-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Environmental changes alter the diversity and structure of communities. By shifting the range of species traits that will be successful under new conditions, environmental drivers can also dramatically impact ecosystem functioning and resilience. Above and belowground communities jointly regulate whole-ecosystem processes and responses to change, yet they are frequently studied separately. To determine whether these communities respond similarly to environmental changes, we measured taxonomic and trait-based responses of plant and soil microbial communities to four years of experimental warming and nitrogen deposition in a temperate grassland. Plant diversity responded strongly to N addition, whereas soil microbial communities responded primarily to warming, likely via an associated decrease in soil moisture. These above and belowground changes were associated with selection for more resource-conservative plant and microbe growth strategies, which reduced community functional diversity. Functional characteristics of plant and soil microbial communities were weakly correlated (P = 0.07) under control conditions, but not when above or belowground communities were altered by either global change driver. These results highlight the potential for global change drivers operating simultaneously to have asynchronous impacts on above and belowground components of ecosystems. Assessment of a single ecosystem component may therefore greatly underestimate the whole-system impact of global environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L Adair
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand. .,Department of Entomology, Comstock Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, 14853, NY, USA.
| | - Stinus Lindgreen
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand.,H. Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, 2500, Valby, Denmark
| | - Anthony M Poole
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
| | - Laura M Young
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand
| | - Maud Bernard-Verdier
- Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, PO Box 85084, Lincoln, 7647, Canterbury, New Zealand.,Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Biologie, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, 14195, Berlin-Dahlem, Germany
| | - David A Wardle
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE901-83, Umea, Sweden.,Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore
| | - Jason M Tylianakis
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand. .,Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, United Kingdom.
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